Improved automatic eaileoad switch



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GEORGE W. S'lAlt-R., 0F GLARKSBURG, WES'llVlliGjlNlA.

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IMPROVED AUTOMATIC RAILROAD SWITCH.

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TO ALL WIIOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it knowntliat I, GERGE W. STARR, of Clarksburg, in the county ofHarrison, and State of rcs-t Virginie., have invented certain new anduseful improvements in Automatic Railroad Switches; and I do herebydeclare that the following is a.full, clear, and exact descriptionthcreoi, reference being had to the accompanying` drawings, making partof this specification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,like letters indicating like parts wherever-they occur.

To enable others skilled in the art to construct and use my invention, Iwill proceed to describe it.

My invention relates to railroad switches, and -consists of a new andimproved method of adjusting their. automatically. By my improvement thcpassing train, in whichever direction it may be going, will adjust th(switch se as to make the main line continuous, and avoid'accidental.ruiming on to the side track. In tht drawings-i- Figure 1 isla top planview.

Figure 2 is aview of ya cross vertical section on the lines x .e and y yof fig. 1, and

'Figure 3 is a view of longitudinal vertical section on the line z z ofiig. 1.

v At'the point on the railroad at which I locate my switch, as shown iniig. l, I fasten firmly the rails A A to thesleeper at one end, andunder the other en d, where they connect with, theA rails I3 B of themain track, or the rails C C 0f thc side track, I place a heavy timber,D, with an upright, E, as shown in figs. 1 and 2. 0n the side of thetimber D, I pivot a lever, F, at a, having its outer arm bent at itsextreme end, and resting on an upright, c, which is attached'to a.spiral spring inside o'f a case, d. Its inner arm passes under the railA next to the point a, where the lever is pvoted, as shown in iig. 2,and is provided with a shoulder or catch, e, located so as to be on aline with the'rail A, when the rail A isili line with the rail C. On,the same side-of the timber D withthe lever F, 'and nearthe end of theinner arm of the lever F, I place a rest or support, f, for this end ofthele'ver when locking the rails A A inline with rails C C. When the endof the lever F is on the restf, the `shoulder c will be above the lowerside ofthe rail A, as shown byf'the red lines in iig. 2, and the rail Awill bear against it. 'To-the upright E, I'pivot a lever, G, at g, andto its lower end I pivot an arm, h, extending at right angles te it,wliiehlis pivoted to a. slotted arm7 z', as shown in iig. 1,v To theunder side of the rail A, I attach a projection orshoulder, which'passesthrough the slot in the arm t'. The rails A A' connect firmly'v with therod which is alsoconneetedwith a stiff spiral spring, 7c, by the rod l,as shown in figs. 1 and 2. The spiral spring Ienclo'se ina case, whichis strongly fastened to the timber D, as shown in iig. 1. I also attachto theirail A an arm, m, bent so as to pass along the side of theupright E, and through a staple in the same, to which it can be lockedorvkeyed when desired. Between the rails A A and I3 B', I place a pairoflocking-bars, n and `o, lapping by one another', as shown in iig. 1.Each of the bars n ando has a catch or notch, p, as ,shown in iig.-3,which its over the end of the lever F, when upon the restf, as shown infigs. 2 and 3. rlhe bars or rods n o 'ar'e kept in place by staples gfastened in the sleepers, and their ends r are attached by a crank tosmall shafts s, provided withI trippers t', which areilat, firmlyattached to the shafts s, and when in a vertical position their upperends are on aline with the upper side of the rails near which they areplaced.

v In operating-my switch I pull down the lever Gr; this moves the railsA A on a line with the rails C C'. As they are rigidly-attached atonecnd to `the sleepers, they are sprung over partially, and tend to.spring back again. Butin 'being .sprung over the spiral spring Z6 -iscompressed, which, when made suiiiciently strong, would throw them back,.even it' the other ends yof the rails were pivoted to instead o`f beingrigidly ,attached to the sleepers. When the'rails A A are thus by thelever G'placed on a line with the rails :C C', Iihear down on the'y endu ofthe lever F. This elevates its opposite end, which I plaeeon therest f, and at the same time the shoulder c rises above the side of therail A, which iscaught and held by it. And as the rail A is connectedwith-the railA, they are thus both held in aline with the rails C G', asshown bythe red lines. When in this position, if the ears are moving onthe rails A A towards the switeh,the flanges of theforward wheels willstrike againststhe tripperlt, as shown in iig. 3, and bend it forward.As it bends forward it moves the rod n towards and the catchy pull'sftheend of the lever F oft' of the rest f. This end of the lever F is forceddown by theaction of the spiral spring in the case d, as shown in'ig, 2.The rail A is released'from its bearing e in the lever F, und the railsA A are forced by the spiral spring .k and their own elasticity back onto a line with the rails B B. When the cars are moving on the rails B Btowards the switch, should the switch he set. as before, so that therails A A are on a line with the rails C C, the tripper i will be struckby the flange of the wheels the railsAA released and spring back onaline with the rails BB', as before` The rails A A may be held in anydesired position permanently by means of the arm m, and any suitablelocking device on the upright E. By means of a spring, z, attached tothe lever G, as shown in tig. 1, and the slot z' in the arm k of thelever E, the lever will always spring back, afterbeing used, to avertical position. The hars or rods n and o may be made of any desirablelength, so as to secure the switching of the rails at sonic distancefrom the switch, and thus avoid the pressing ofthe rails A A against thesleepers bythe ears7 and prevent their movement.

By this arrangement I make an automatic switch that will secure acontinuous line of rail by the action of thc cars themselves, inwhichever direction they maybe moving. The object of my invention is toprevent collision on the side track, as well as to prevent the cars fromrunning oit" the track. and this I believe my automatic switcharrangement will do.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, is-

1. The lever G, in combination with the slotted arm i and springe, whenarranged to operate in connection with the rail A, the connecting-rods jand I, and spring lr, as described and for the purpose set forth.

'2. The lever F, in combination with the spring in the case 1, the restf, and rail A, when arranged to operate as described and for the purposeset forth.

3. The trippers l t', in combination with the bars n and o, whenarranged to operate the lever F for releasing the rail A, as describedand for the purpose set forth.

4. An automatic railroad switch with the devices for locking andreleasing the rails A A', when arranged to operate as described and Forthe purposes set forth.

GEO. W. STARR.

Witnesses:

WM. S. Ronvsox, JOHN W. RonrNsoN.

